The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-12-27
WOOLFOLK'S HOPES.
Colonel Rutherford Confident He
VIII Get Another Trial.
HoWTHE MURDERER SPENDS HIsTIME

In the dismal solitude Of cell in Fulton
county jail Tom Voolfolk quietly passes his
time sitting and reading and Illuminating
Shrinking from contact with the maefactors
who are his neighbors and partners in VICE.
he is wrapped up in himself, and his thoughts
dwell upon his terrible crime, his chserless
present and his awful future
Have You lost all hope, Tom ?" one of the
tunkeys, in a tone of sympathy asked the
prisoner, as he peered through the grating of
his cell.
mo; my lawyers tell me not to lose cour-
age, but to hope for the best This / try so
hard to do, but it's not easy"
Colonel John c. Rutherford, the senior coun-
sci for Voolfolk, spent several hours in the city
yesterday.
81 am really so pressed for time" Colonel
Rutherford said, nerYouSly as the reporter as
sumed an interviewer's attitude "that can
spare you but q few moments.
You will. it is understood appeal your
case to the supreme court and ask for q new
trial. Is that true, colonel?'
"Unquestionably We shall take that course"
do you object to saying upon what grounds
you rest your hope of obtaining another trial ?"
mo, do not. Only the grounds are so nu-
merous that it would be hard for me to tell
you all of them. That orr client did not have
q fair trial is easily shown. We can abundant
ly establish the fact that several Of the jurors
that their minds We're without bias
and that they had neither ex-
pressed nor formed an opnin OF
Woolfolk's guilt or innocence, subsequently
confessed that previous to the trial they had
openly asserted that Voolfolk ought to be
hanged This admission has been made by
some OF the jurors since the case was tried.
Other jurors have declared that they dared
not acqult the defendant; that, i'll their opin-
ion, it would have been unsafe for them to
have voted hn oh
they would have been mobbed had they re-
turned verdict OF acquittal. These facts will
be established to the satisfaction of the court.
Another exceedingly strong ground-in fact,
SO strong that if we had no other, would
ensure us new trials the be-
havior of the mob in tho courthouse1
The mob that clamorcd for the blood of the
accused and cried; Hang himl hang him!'
rms extraordinary demonstration during the
trial of the case had an overpowcring effect
upon the members of tho jury, and put the
defendant in n state of trepidation. He actu-
ally was in constant dread lest the passion of
the populace would gain uncomfortable sway
and wreak itself upon his hapless head This
shows tho state of feeling in the courtroom
Moreover, the presiding judge permitted these
unseemly outbursts to occur and his rebnke
took no stronger form than the mere rapping
Of the crowd to order He made no effort to
bring the Offenders to justice"
"Youwill establish hisinnocenoe9. thought
it belonged to the state TO prove his guilt 2"
cit is incumbent upon the prosecution to
prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt
Was this done in the trial at Macon? Most
assuredly not. Nc lawyer to whom / have
talked since L have been in your city has
ventured to say that Woolfolk's guilt was
proved. No; the state utterly failed to fix the
crime upon Voolfolk and tho verdict of con-
demnation is not inconsistent with his inno-
cence, for it was the crystalzaton of popular
prejudice, not the Just, unbiased Judgment of
twelve good and true men,"
When will the supreme court hear your
notion"
Some time in January, think. There
will be stay of execution till the case is
heard"
"There is one thing" continued the lawyer
ito which wish to call your attention and
through you bring the newspapers to q sense
of their duty. 1t was an unaccountable omis-
sion on the part of the press of Macon and
other parts of Georgia to let pass without a
stern rebuke the unheard-of demonstration of
the crowd in the courtroom. 1t was an out
rageous proceeding on the part of that crowd
Tho idea of crowd i'll the presence of q court
and jury, camoring for the life of man on
trial for murder! | was astonshed at the ST.
lence of the editors. Neither the Macon Tele-
graph nor The CONSTITUTION had a word to
say editorially about this.